July 21, 2021 - Arches NP, Balanced Rock, Windows, Double Arch and Park Avenue Viewpoint Areas

Comfort Suites provides free and yummy breakfast, therefore we took our time and had nice breakfast before we started our vacation.  

                                    

Recently, we learned that there were big crowd in the Arches NP and people have been waiting in line for getting into the park. Therefore, we planed to drive by the park and then decided today’s itinerary depending on the crowd.  Luckily, the waiting line outside the NP entrance was not bad at all, therefore, we decided to visit the Arches NP first.   

The first stop was the Balanced Rock.  Balanced Rock is visible from the road side.  We did not have any trouble to find a parking spot.  Since Fei had been here before, therefore, she volunteered to stay in the car to watch Maisie while she was taking her nap.  

There is a 0.3 miles loop trail around the Balanced Rock, therefore, we all started on walking the trail and took many photos.  This was the first attraction spot for us in this park, we were all wowing the beauty of rock formations and we took it in slowly and enjoyed it as much as we could.  We spent quite a long time there. 

The next stop was Windows Section for North & South Windows.  There is a 1 mile loop trail which will lead you to Turret Arch and North & South Windows.  Talia was pretty excited and went to the Turret Arch first and even climbed up to the top of Turret Arch for photos.  Then, we moved from Turret Arch to South Window and then to North Window.  At a particular angle, one can get a photo for both North and South Windows.  Then, Jason went back to the car to get Theresa and Maisie to come and enjoy these arches.

The next stop was the Double Arch.  There is a short trail leading to the Double Arch from the parking lot.  We saw the arch the whole way up there and it was very impressive.  You can climb up to the arch for a closer look.   Jason was holding Maisie and carefully got onto the arch as we did.  Of course, there were more Kodak moments in front of this magnificent arch.  

After visiting Double Arch, we decided to go back to Moab for lunch and get some rest time away from the sun. After we got back to the hotel, Jason ordered take-out food from Moab Thai.  It was a nice lunch, eating in the air condition room.

After some rest, we all went to the hotel pool to cool off a little bit.  

Around 4 PM, we went out to Arches NP again, we stopped at the Park Avenue Viewpoint first.  The rock formations in this area is majestic and impressive.  The sun was still pretty strong and the temperature was high.  However, it did not stop us to get out and enjoy this beautiful scenery.  

Then, we stopped by the Courthouse Towers Viewpoint area to see the Tower of Babel, Sheep Rock, Three Gossips and the Organ.  So happen the sun was behind the clouds, therefore, it was pretty comfortable to look and take photos there.

Next stop was the Delicate Arch Viewpoint area to see the famous Delicate Arch.  There are Lower Viewpoint and Upper Viewpoint areas.  The view of Delicate Arch from Lower Viewpoint area was impressive, however, it was too far.  We tried to go to the Upper Viewpoint area and we found out that rock formations were blocking the arch, therefore, we did not go to the end point of the Upper Viewpoint area. By this time, it was pretty late already and we decided to call off the day.

We finally agreed to dinning at the Desert Bistro.  When we got there, we found out that we need a reservation to avoid the long wait time.  Therefore, we just went to a nearby food truck area to have pizza.  Then, we had yogurt from Moyo Moab Frozen Yogurt as dessert to end this fruitful day.